Sunday, May 29, 2011

This is an interesting story concerning the balance between Traditional values and conservation in northern Australia. It's worth a read because conservation is a complex beast and thinking outside the box is often required.

1 comment:

Diving into a creek at night to grab crocodiles around the mouth--now there's something I never heard about in any of the dozens of crocodile documentaries I watched in my lifetime. And eaten without being gutted? Interesting...

The article mentions that the hunting of crocs has been a longstanding tradition, although it's clear that the people in this particular community don't take more than what they need, as there seems to be a "respect" for crocs.

The perception of the animal, its value in the eyes of both those who would conserve them versus those who support a cull--are these issues that regularly come to a head between Aboriginals and the rest of Australians? Is there a definitive 'crocs are sacred versus crocs are useless' divide there? I'm asking because I'm not Australian, so I'm not completely familiar with the attitudes towards the animal and the debates that would arise...

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